Management Bonuses and Salary Increases

In April 1997, The San Diego Union ran an article about a proposed "pay for performance" plan for top executives in San Diego County government. Larry Prior proposed giving top managers bonuses equal to a maximum of 30 percent of their annual salaries if they met set financial, budget, and customer service improvement goals. This is the San Diego Union's list of the 37 county managers, and what they would get at top bonus. The article stated that other job classifications might get 10 or 15 percent bonuses. (This information is from the April 28th, 1997 San Diego Union.)

Name	Job Title	Salary as of 4-21-97	Maximum Possible Bonus
Larry Prior	Chief Administration Officer	$150,009	$45,002
Robert K. Ross	Director, Health Services	$135,512	$40,653
Brian D. Blackbourne	Medical Examiner	$135,512	$40,547
John Sansone	County Counsel	$125,008	$37,502
Steven J. Carroll	Public Defender	$125,008	$37,502
Rich Robinson	Deputy Chief Administrative Officer	$125,008	$37,502
Robert Copper	Deputy Chief Administrative Officer	$125,008	$37,502
Timothy Chandler	Alternate Public Defender	$119,600	$35,880
Walt Ekard	Director, Office of Strategy & Intergovernmental Affairs	$119,600	$35,880
Kenneth Martone	Executive Officer & Jury Commissioner, Superior Court	$118,560	$35,568
Lari Sheehan	Deputy Chief Administrative Officer	$114,296	$34,288
Cecil Steppe	Director, Social Services	$114,254	$34,276
Robert Booker	Chief Financial Officer Auditor & Controller	$113,817	$34,145
Cary Klippert	Marshal	$111,550	$33,465
Kent D. Pedersen	Court Administrator of San Diego Municipal Court	$107,577	$32,273
Stephen Thunberg	Court Administrator of South Bay Municipal Court	$103,563	$31,068
Frederick Lear	Court Administrator of El Cajon Municipal Court	$103,563	$31,068
Brian White	Retirement Administrator	$103,438	$31,031
Vacant	Director, Public Works
Alan Crogan	Chief Probation Officer	$101,940	$30,582
Richard Sommerville	Air Pollution Control Officer	$100,048	$30,014
John A. Miller	Director, General Services	$ 99,507	$29,852
Sharon Lear	Court Administrator of North County Municipal Court	$ 97,260	$29,178
Dan Avera	Director, Environmental Health	$ 95,721	$28,716
Gary Pryor	Director, Planning and Land Use	$ 92,934	$27,880
Michael Kemp	Director, Parks and Recreation	$ 91,686	$27,505
Hector Cazares	Director, Animal Control Department	$ 90,771	$27,231
Graham Lynch	Director, Information Services	$ 89,960	$26,988
Marilyn Crouch	Director, Library	$ 85,758	$25,727
Thomas J. Pastuszka	Clerk of Board of Supervisors	$ 85,404	$25,621
Kathleen Thuner	Agricultural Commissioner	$83,720	$25,116
Romulo Sarno	Director, Human Resources	$83,449	$25,034
Edward Baker	Director, Housing & Community Development	$ 80,371	$24,111
Mikel Haas	Registrar of Voters	$ 79,206	$23,761
Daniel Layer	Director, Area Agency on Aging	$ 71,531	$21,459
Victor Nieto	Director, Equal Opportunity Management	$ 65,686	$19,705
Don Billings	Public Administrator Guardian	$ 65,686	$19,705

The Actual 1997 Bonuses
(This information is from Local 2028's flyer of August 22, 1997)

What Did Lineworkers Think About Management Bonuses?
In August, 1997, when the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the $1.2 million in bonuses to 179 top San Diego County executives, many ordinary workers were upset. There had been many years of little or no pay increases, and many employees had even taken time off without pay in order to keep jobs from being cut. This program, called VTO (Voluntary Time Off) had reportedly saved $1.3 million. The bonuses were $1.2 million. Many workers complained that management was getting the VTO money. Others asked why management had to be given money to work harder, what about loyalty, pride in good work, and concern for the community? A lot of people worried that staff cuts and high caseloads were the direct result of management cutting corners to meet budget goals and get a bonus.
In September 1998 they reduced the next round of management bonus to a maximum of 18%, and decided that ordinary workers might be eligible for up to 4% of program savings* if they met certain group goals under the QFP (Quality First Program). They also started giving cash bonuses of up to $500 to "Top Employees" chosen by a committee. Some line workers also got cost of living raises. By then, though, some line workers no longer felt like the managers were "part of the team."
My Opinion:
I have worked with some of the managers who got bonuses, and I know others through reputation. None of the ones I know are people who would do anything to deliberately hurt the people who work for them. Nevertheless, the fact that managers accepted bonuses while lineworkers got no recognition for their work caused a rift between management and lineworkers which will take time to mend.
The bottom line is, I don't believe in bonuses. There is too much chance for them to be awarded for political, and not practical, reasons. Why not pay decent salaries in the first place and find some other way to get rid of managers who don't produce?

*not a percentage of gross salary, but a percentage of the total program savings, divided among the group as a whole. In my classification this amounts to between $300 and $400.

San Diego County Management Bonuses and Salary Increases

The Actual 1997 Bonuses (This information is from Local 2028's flyer of August 22, 1997)

The Actual 1997 Bonuses
(This information is from Local 2028's flyer of August 22, 1997)